Mallorca 1 - Villarreal 1

Mallorca: Leo Franco; Cortés, Olaizola, Nadal, Poli; Novo, Marcos, Ibagaza, Riera; Eto'o, Pandiani. 4-4-2.
Villarreal: Reina; Belletti, Berruet, Unai, Arruabarrena; Guayre (Javi Venta 70'), Marcos Senna, Josico, Jorge López (Calleja 82'); Víctor, Palermo. 4-4-2.

Team changes: Mallorca: Marcos for Lozano / Villarreal: Unai, Guayre for Quique Alvarez, Ballesteros.

Goals:
0-1. 22. Palermo. Intercepted bad back pass from Marcos to roll ball past keeper.
1-1. 56. Pandiani. Headed over hesitant Reina into net from Poli's cross.

Mallorca missed out on the chance to take top spot after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Villarreal in the San Moix stadium. Gregorio Manzano's side were looking for their eighth straight win which would take them above Real Sociedad, who had only drawn the night before, and they lined up with virtually the same starting eleven as in their previous matches. The only change in fact was Marcos for the suspended Lozano, but it proved to be a key difference, the midfielder, hearing a shout behind him for a pass midway through the first half, turned the ball back only to find that the caller was none other than opposing striker Martín Palermo. The wily Argentine superstar had been having a bit of a bad season, having only scored one goal in the cup, but he took the gift gratefully and rolled the ball past Leo Franco to open his league account this season.

Mallorca were not showing any of the form of earlier matches though, and only the solid Leo Franco kept out the nippy Guayre when he broke through. Víctor just failed to connect cleanly with Palermo's cross, and Jorge López shot wide in a first half which the home fans would like to forget. And the second half started in the same vein, Guayre trying to chip the keeper but only succeeding in lifting it into his hands. But then out of the blue Mallorca equalised, Pandiani rising to head Poli's cross over the defence into the net with Reina caught in no-man's-land after dithering over whether to come off his line or not.

After that Mallorca woke up, and for the next twenty minutes or so the red shirts bore down on Reina's goal. The keeper made up for his mistake with a point blank save from Pandiani, and Ibagaza shot wide with the goal at his mercy soon afterwards. Poli hit the bar with a long cross, and Eto'o got the ball in the net only to see it ruled out for a marginal offside. Eventually though they ran out of steam, and the last couple of chances fell to the visitors, with Belletti putting shooting into the side netting near the end. In the end a fair result, which leaves Manzano's team in second place and gives Villarreal another point in their struggle for survival.